Cynthia Nixon stops in Syracuse on upstate campaign

Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon made a campaign appearance in Syracuse Thursday.

Ellen Abbott
/ WRVO News File Photo

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Gubernatorial hopeful Cynthia Nixon brought her campaign to Syracuse this week to talk with community leaders about their concerns in a closed-door session.

Nixon, a Democrat hoping to challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a primary this fall, called the 15 or so attendees of a private roundtable in Syracuse local heroes. Afterward, she told reporters the issues brought up by these community leaders are the same she’s hearing from others across the state - like more funding for education.

“We need it to improve school buildings that have mold and lead and asbestos," Nixon said. "We also need it to stop the shool-to-prison pipeline. We need to have more social workers and psychologists. We need to have people trained in conflict resolution.”

Nixon also says she heard a need for help with immigrant rights and affordable housing, and took a direct shot at Cuomo’s economic development strategy, which she called top down economic development.

“There were millions of dollars doled out to people who would then contribute to Governor Cuomo’s campaign coffers, and the economic development dollars weren’t helping the citizens of Syracuse who need it most," She said.

As for the campaign, Nixon says she’s actively seeking the Working Families Party endorsement, and criticized Cuomo for a lack of small donations in his $31 million campaign war chest.

"0.1 percent of that is from small donors, and so far, we’re only 2 1/2 weeks into our campaign, and we have more small donors in our campaign than he’s had since he started to run in 2009," Nixon said.

Nixon's stop in Syracuse was part of an upstate campaign swing that also included Rochester.

Cynthia Nixon, Democratic candidate for governor, came to Albany to critique the school funding record of her potential primary opponent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The funding is now being discussed in the state budget. As in all of her comments since she’s announced her candidacy, Nixon didn’t pull any punches.